The Rich Get Richer: NBA vs NFL
The entire concept behind “the rich get richer” theory is that in a connected network, preceding, older, and more established nodes will always have an advantage over less established and newer nodes coming into the network. This concept is mainly applied in economics, stating that the “1%” will become ever so prosperous while the 99% remains stagnant in the United States, maybe even the world. There are even examples in Hiphop where a sample
One example, however, that has only become extremely obvious this year is the National Basketball Association. In the NBA, a high salary used to be just shy of 20 million a year. In the 2000-2001 season, Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves got 19,600,000, highest in the league that year.
Fast forward to a few months ago, after winning his 3rd NBA championship, and his first in Cleveland, LeBron James signed a 3 year 100 million dollars contract with an option to opt out in the third season. What he will really be making is 42.2 million a year. A new record in the books.
LeBron’s huge raise is obviously attributed to the tremendous value that he brings to the Cavaliers’ franchise both as a player and spokesperson. However, it has to be noted that LeBron is not the only one getting paid. As a matter of fact, during this offseason, DeMar Derozen of the Raptors signed for 139 million over 5 years, Mike Conley for 153 million over 5 years, Dwight Howard for 70 million over 3 years, and even Jeremy Lin for 36 million over 3 years. The fact of the matter is that everyone is getting paid because of the New TV deals. There had been and has been a cascade of rising salary caps every year. But this year was the most notable. And when TV deals and the tickets prices go up, the player’s salaries are bound to go up. Now more than ever, multiple teams are able to offer massive deals to not only the best players, but even the second, third, and fourth tier players.
Whereas the NBA players keep getting richer, the NFL salaries pale in comparison. In 2016, the highest paid player in the NFL is currently Eli Manning of the New York Giants at $24,200,000. While this isn’t bad, we also have to consider that this is called “quarterback money,” meaning that there are only a handful, around 20 players who make even close to what quarterbacks make. There are the franchise quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers. Then there is the glut of backup, linemen, safeties and even practice squad players who sign for a few days per contract.
To be fair, not everyone in the NBA is making 40 million a year and not everyone in the NFL is signing 10 day contracts. However, one of the major reasons for this discrepancy is because there are simply far too many NFL players compared to NBA players. While the average NBA roster is around 15, the NFL is triple, if not quadruple that amount. As a result, more players mean that the salaries are diluted.
What’s even more interesting is that after taking a closer look, we can see that the average NBA player only makes around 3 million more than the average NFL player, 5 million to 2 million. This is actually good news for NFL players because it means that TV and ticket revenue are actually close when comparing the NBA to the NFL.
Where it does become alarming is that now, with the rise of salary caps, stars and super stars in the NBA are getting richer than ever while rotational players remain as they are.
Other variables include the fact that NBA players do not wear helmets, have more distinct roles, and as a result, are far more marketable. There is no solution to this phenomenon, but at least the NBA super stars are getting rich along with the owners and commissioners.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/rankings/
https://www.cs.cornell.edu/home/kleinber/networks-book/networks-book-ch18.pdf
http://www.audiomasterclass.com/the-hip-hop-rich-get-richer-while-the-hip-hop-poor-get-poorer-and-this-man-is-to-blame
http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/20160704/bill-reynolds-rich-get-richer-in-todays-nba
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/inequality-1-percent-99-percent-income-growth/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest-paid_NBA_players_by_season
http://www.businessinsider.com/charts-expose-how-badly-nfl-players-get-paid-2013-9